Apple Cinnamon Fruit dip

Dips are not just for veggies anymore! Jazz up your fruit salad by serving it with this creamy compliment.

Ingredients:

1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Combine all of the above listed ingredients in a small bowl. Chill and serve.

Makes about 1 cup, 8 servings

Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories 35 Protein 3 g Carb 6 g Fiber 0 g Sugars 5 g Fat 0 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 10 mg

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Traditional Coleslaw

A healthy twist on a popular and standard side…

3 cups shredded cabbage (I use 2 cups green, 1 cup purple)
1 cup shredded carrots
¼ cup light mayo (*use a gluten-free brand such as Best Foods if you are on a gluten-free diet)
¾ cup low fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Put the cabbage in a medium sized bowl. In a smaller bowl whisk together the mayo, buttermilk and rice vinegar until smooth. Pour the dressing into the bowl of cabbage and carrots and mix well. Chill and serve.

Makes 3 cups, six servings

Serving size: ½ cup Calories 70 Protein 2 g Carb 8 g Fiber 2g Sugars 6 g Fat 3 g Saturated fat 1 g Sodium 140 mg

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Lean Sloppy Joes

Now here’s a classic favorite that many of us enjoyed while growing up. Lean ground turkey and the addition of more veggies plus serving it on a whole grain bun all up the nutritional value of this recipe while keeping the calories low.

8 ounces lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped white onion
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 ¼ cup tomato sauce/puree
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
ICB spray or olive oil using olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil)
whole grain hamburger buns

Spray a medium sized pan with ICB or olive oil sprayer (if neither are available, use a teaspoon of olive oil) add the turkey meat and brown for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside. To the same pan add the carrots, onions and bell peppers and sauté on high heat until softened, about 6-7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cooked turkey meat and spices and mix well and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5- 8 minutes. Divide and add the mixture to the four hamburger buns (1/2 cup mixture per bun) and serve.

Variations:

If you don’t like ground turkey you can substitute lean ground beef or if you want to make them vegetarian use soy protein crumbles.

If you are watching carbs, omit the bun and have as a stew, top with low fat cheese.

If you are watching sodium, use low sodium tomato sauce.

Make four servings:

Serving size:1/2 cup mixture plus one bun Calories 260 Protein 16 g Carb 31 g Sugar 8 g Fiber 4 g Fat 9 g Saturated fat 2 g Sodium 570 mg

Serving size:1/2 cup mixture alone Calories 150 Protein 12 g Carb 12 g Sugar 6 g Fiber 3 g Fat 6 g Saturated fat 1.5 g Sodium 380 mg

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Eastern Spiced Tomatoes and Cauliflower

Sweet, spicy and aromatic, this makes a nice side dish or is great over brown rice as a meal.

2.5 cups chopped cauliflower
1 cup chopped bell pepper (orange, yellow or red preferred)
½ cup chopped white onion
1 cup tomato sauce/puree
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth(*use a gluten-free brand such as Progresso Natural if you are on a gluten-free diet)
1.5 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons raisins
ICB spray or olive oil using olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil)

Spray a large pan/skillet with ICB or olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil). Turn on medium heat, add bell pepper and onions and for 5-8 minutes until lightly browned. Add the cauliflower, broth, tomato sauce, raisins and spices, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cauliflower is tender.

Makes 3 cups, six servings

Serving size ½ cup Calories 65 Protein 2 g Carb 12 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 7 g Fat 1 g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 187 mg

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Lemon Walnut Broccoli

Fresh lemon juice plus the crunch of walnuts adds some spunk to cooked broccoli in this simple dish that’s super low in calories, carbs, fat and sodium.

Ingredients:

fresh broccoli, rinsed and chopped (4 cups of florets) baby broccoli works very nicely too
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon raisins
ICB spray or olive oil using olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the broccoli until almost done- by either boiling them in a pot of water, steaming in a pyrex dish in an half inch of water or even quicker, put them in a Glad® Simply Cooking™ Microwave Steaming Bag and heat on high for about 2-3 minutes. Spray a small to medium sized pan with ICB or an olive oil sprayer or drizzle very lightly with a teaspoon olive oil and put on medium heat. Add the broccoli and lemon juice and sauté 5-7 minutes until lightly browned. Sprinkle with raisins and walnuts, heat for another minute and then serve.

Variations:

Makes 4 cups, 8 servings

Serving size: 1/2 cup Calories 25 Protein 1 g Carb 3 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 0 g Fat 1 g Saturated fat 0 g Sodium 10 mg

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Apple Crumble for Two

Like apple pie? Try these instead for a warm, hearty treat that’s much lower in fat and calories.

2 medium apples-rome, fuji, gala all work well
4 tablespoons rolled oats (*use gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill if you are on a gluten-free diet)
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour(OMIT the flour if you are on a gluten-free diet)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, chilled
ICB spray or cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Core and peel the apples and cut into half inch chunks. Spray a medium sized pan with ICB, or cooking spray (or nothing if you are using a non-stick), put in the apples and sauté on high heat for about 5 minutes. While the apples are cooking put the oats, (flour), one of the tablespoons of brown sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl and mix together. Cut the chilled butter into small cubes and work into the four mixture by hand until a crumbled texture is reached. Once the apples are slightly tender add the other tablespoon of brown sugar and half teaspoon of cinnamon to them and stir well until they are uniformly coated and the sugar has melted. Add the apples to two small ramikens or small oven safe mugs/dishes and sprinkle the crumble on top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until crumble is very lightly browned/crispy.

Makes 2 crumbles, two servings

Serving size: 1 dish of crumble
Calories 300 Protein 3 g Carb 49 g Fiber 8 g Sugars 30 g Fat 12 g saturated fat 7 g Sodium 5 mg

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Double Corn Tortilla Soup

In addition to toasted tortilla strips traditionally used for topping, a corn tortilla is actually blended into the base and generous amounts of whole kernels are stirred in to give this soup a real corny kick. This version is vegetarian, but cooked cubed or shredded chicken can be added if you like. Also, two versions are listed below, the original recipe and then a non-pureed version if you don’t have a blender on hand.

Ingredients:

3 corn tortillas (*make sure to use one's without added gluten if you are on a gluten-free diet)
Two 14 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
Two 14 ounce cans chicken or vegetable broth (*use a gluten-free brand such as Progresso Natural if you are on a gluten-free diet)
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup corn (fresh, canned or thawed frozen)
½ cup chopped white or yellow onion
½ teaspoon crushed garlic (or 1 clove garlic chopped)
1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
ICB spray or olive oil using olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil)
1/2 cup diced avocado (optional, to garnish)
light sour cream or non fat Greek yogurt (optional, to garnish)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional, to garnish)
1 lime cut in quarters (optional, to garnish)

Tortilla strips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thinly slice two corn tortillas lengthwise into 1/4th inch thin strips and spray lightly with ICB or olive oil sprayer. Bake for about ten minutes or until crispy.

Soup

Directions:

Put the canned tomatoes, broth, chili powder, garlic and cumin in a medium sized pot on high heat and bring to a light boil. Meanwhile, put the corn, onion and carrots in a microwave steam bag (or pyrex dish filled with ½ inch of water) and heat a few minutes until tender- or you can sauté them in a small pan sprayed with ICB or olive oil sprayer (or 1 teaspoon olive oil) on medium heat until tender, then set aside. Remove from the tomato broth mixture from heat, let cool a bit and add 1 shredded corn tortilla (preferably microwaved for 10 seconds first to soften). Carefully transfer the soup into a blender. If you have a smaller blender only add one fourth to half of the mixture at a time (you can put the other half in a large bowl until ready to blend). Blend on low speed for about a minute, until a smooth consistency is reached.

A note about blending hot liquids: In order to be safe, it is recommended when you blend hot liquids that you never fill the jar more than half full, that you put the lid on and then cover it with a dry towel and hold it down by hand. Or instead, cover with the top, but leave out the center plastic covering, place a kitchen towel on top which will allow air to escape more gently Also, use as slow a speed as possible. NEVER blend hot liquids fully covered and at high-initial speed...you're just inviting burns as the hot liquid quickly blends, heats up the air above it, and causes an explosion through the blender top

Put the blended mixture back in the saucepan and warm on low heat stirring frequently (to prevent the thick soup from spattering.) Toss in the veggies (cooked carrots, corn, onion mixture) and simmer for 5 minutes until uniformly heated. Serve sprinkled with tortilla strips. Garnish with avocado, chopped cilantro and a lime wedge (if desired). You can also serve with a spoonful of plain nonfat yogurt or Greek yogurt or light sour cream as well.

Makes about 7 cups, four servings

Serving size: 1 3/4 cup with ¼ of tortilla strips mixture Calories 210 Protein 6 g Carb 42 g Fiber 8 g Sugars 6.5 g Fat 3.g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 958 mg

Variations:

To reduce sodium content, use low sodium chicken broth and no salt added canned tomatoes
Also, if you don’t have a blender, try the non-blended version listed below:

Non- blended version

Ingredients

same as the regular version, listed above

Tortilla strips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thinly slice all three corn tortillas lengthwise into 1/4th inch thin strips and spray lightly with ICB or olive oil sprayer. Bake for about ten minutes or until crispy.(Since you will not be blending a corn tortilla into the base, you will just add extra toasted corn tortilla strips on top.)

Soup

Directions:

Put the corn, onion and carrots in a medium to large sized pot sprayed with ICB or olive oil sprayer (or 1 teaspoon olive oil) and sauté on medium heat until tender. Put the canned tomatoes, broth, chili powder, garlic and cumin in the pot and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve sprinkled with tortilla strips. Garnish with avocado, chopped cilantro and a lime wedge (if desired). You can also serve with a spoonful of plain nonfat yogurt or Greek yogurt or light sour cream.

Serving size: 1 3/4 cup with ¼ of tortilla strips mixture Calories 210 Protein 6 g Carb 42 g Fiber 8 g Sugars 6 g Fat 3.4 saturated fat 0 g Sodium 958 mg

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Fiesta Rice

A perfect side for celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked brown rice (I used Trader Joes instant microwavable)
¼ cup diced white onion
¼ cup diced yellow, red or orange bell pepper
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth *use a gluten-free brand such as Progresso Natural if you are on a gluten-free diet
1 cup canned stewed tomatoes
¼ cup corn (fresh, frozen thawed or canned rinsed)
¼ teaspoon chili powder
ICB spray or olive oil using olive oil sprayer (if both n/a use a teaspoon of olive oil)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions. Spray a medium pot with ICB or an olive oil sprayer or drizzle very lightly with a teaspoon olive oil and put on medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the broth, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and mix well, then stir in the cooked rice and heat 5-7 minutes until warm.

Makes 4.5 cups 9 servings

Serving size: ½ cup Calories 90 Protein 3 g Carb 18 g Fiber 3 g Sugars 1 g Fat 1 g saturated fat 0 g Sodium 130 mg

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